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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24079372">the trial by tale</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tedrosintheskywithchocolate/pseuds/tedrosintheskywithchocolate'>tedrosintheskywithchocolate</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Original Character(s), i swear this gets better as it goes on</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:02:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,959</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24079372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tedrosintheskywithchocolate/pseuds/tedrosintheskywithchocolate</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>chiara of roch briar, an average evergirl at the school for good and evil, is shocked when dean dovey selects her to be good’s wild card in the trial by tale. soon, however, she realizes that this is no ordinary trial and her life, as well as the safety of the schools, is in peril…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. chiara</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>some of you who follow me on instagram at @tedrosintheskywithchocolate might recognize this haha. basically, this was originally a choose-your-adventure story where you’re chiara and you’re trying to see if you’d survive the trial by tale. a bunch of people wanted me to post it as a fic, so, here it is! :). to anyone who hasn’t ever read this - i promise it gets better as it goes on, lol.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i ordinarily wouldn’t include a first chapter explaining who the protagonist is, but i wanted to make this as similar to my original post as possible.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Name: Chiara of Roch Briar</span>
</p><p>
  <span>School: Good</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rank: 28</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Purity: 100%</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Year: First</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talent: Truth Seer</span>
</p><p>
  <span>About Chiara: Chiara is a member of Nicola’s year at the School for Good, under Deans Dovey and Sophie. She was selected as Good’s Wild Card due to her 100% Good status, despite her poor rank. Her talent is that she is a Truth Seer, which means that for the most part, she can see the Truth behind Lies. However, she isn’t a full seer like the Sader family, therefore she can occasionally be deceived by others.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. the trial</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chiara enters the Blue Forest and the gates immediately slam shut behind her and Evil’s Wild Card, Bogden of Woods Beyond. The pair finds themselves in the Tulip Garden. Bogden takes one fearful look at her and sprints away through the tulips, heading south. Coming from that direction are quiet, rustling noises which for some reason fill Chiara with a sense of foreboding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though she knows there’s safety in numbers, every step she takes in Bogden’s direction fills her with dread. Deeper into the Tulip Garden, the girl can hear a beautiful song which beckons her to come. She follows the sound of the lilting melody, enchanted. However, the song’s beauty is overshadowed by Chiara’s cautiousness: her talent alerts her that this is not merely an ordinary song. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking cover behind trees, she creeps toward a clearing where the music is coming from. Here, the girl sees a beautiful maiden, singing to a spellbound Everboy. Her powers of manipulation over him are strong, but Chiara’s talent enables her to see the true person behind the pretty illusion. This creature is a hideous harpy hoping to eat him for dinner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Determined to rescue this poor boy, Chiara mogrifies into a sparrow. Right as the harpy takes his lovesick face into her talons, the girl flies right between the couple. Startled, he topples backward and she momentarily loses the illusion. The Everboy is broken from the spell at the sight of her true appearance and tries to run.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shocked and confused, he doesn’t even consider mogrifying to escape. As the harpy reaches for him, a sadistic smile stretching across her face, Chiara mogrifies into a horse and sweeps him onto her back. The creature screeches threats at the children as the horse gallops away but can’t fly fast enough to catch them. Soon, they’ve both made it out of the Tulip Garden.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At first, the desperate gallop away from the harpy is easy. Spurred forward by her fear, Chiara manages to cover a great distance with the dazed Everboy clinging to her mane. After a while, however, her adrenaline fades and her exhaustion catches up with her. The horse collapses to the ground, narrowly avoiding crushing the boy she just saved. Suddenly, she feels herself mogrifying back into a human and dives behind a large pumpkin to cover herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait a minute,” the boy babbles. “Where’d the horse go…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He notices Chiara’s mortified, bright red face peeking out from behind the pumpkin. Finally understanding what happened, he takes off his jacket and tosses it to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wear this,” he says. “It’s probably long enough to keep you warm. Hey, uh, thanks for saving me. I don’t think I know you…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Chiara,” she responds quickly, not surprised he doesn’t recognize her. She’s not a popular Ever, not by a long shot. But she’s confused that she doesn’t recognize him. “And you are…” she prompts, having trouble scrutinizing him in the dim light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widen. “Chiara, look out!” he calls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” Chiara responds, gazing at him in bewilderment. Despite her confusion, her instincts from Surviving Fairy Tales kick in and she ducks, curling into a ball. There’s a loud thud. She looks up and sees a monstrous creature trying to tug its hook out of a tree trunk. Chiara shudders, noticing how deeply the blade is embedded in the bark, and realizes that could’ve been in her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on!” the boy hisses. “While it’s distracted!” He hauls her to her feet and the two start to run, but hear a horrible ripping noise as the hook exits the tree trunk. Sprinting for their lives, the pair reach a stony bridge which appears dangerously unstable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy stumbles on the uneven stones, throwing Chiara off balance, and she nearly topples off. She saves herself by instinctively grabbing his arm and finds herself staring directly below the bridge. At a one hundred foot drop ending in sharp rocks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t feel too good,” the girl says, lightheaded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He groans. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of heights. Did you forget about the thing that’s chasing us right now?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right,” Chiara says weakly. She tries to stand but her knees buckle and she collapses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, we’re not wasting time on this,” he says, picking her up. The Everboy runs across the bridge, carrying her easily. Behind them, they can hear the pumpkin-headed creature’s bare feet slapping the stones.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Abruptly, the boy stops. He’s reached a point where the bridge breaks off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re so dead,” he says, face white with terror.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” Chiara responds, brow furrowing. She can see a slightly translucent outline of the bridge continuing in front of them. Gingerly, she steps forward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chiara, no!” he gasps, lunging for her. But her intuition was right - the bridge does continue. It’s just invisible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beaming, she grabs his hand and strides forward, leaving the perplexed creature behind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chiara leads the boy onto solid terrain, triumphantly watching the monster turn back into the forest. He collapses to the ground, still in shock at being alive.</span>
</p>
<p><span>“Holy crap, you saved my life - again,” he gasps. “I never would’ve realized the bridge was invisible. How can I ever repay you?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>A tiny smile spreads on her face before she forces a serious expression. She’s in the middle of the Trial by Tale! This is no time for flirting with cute Everboys.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“No need to thank me,” Chiara responds brusquely. “But I still don’t know your name. And for some reason I don’t recognize you, even though I thought I knew all of the Evers in this school.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughs. “Yeah, I bet you do. Uh, my name’s Charlie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowns. “Charlie? Odd name. Sounds kind of… foreign. Where are you from?”</span>
</p>
<p><span>Charlie chuckles nervously. “It’s short for Charles. I’m from, uh… Far. Far away from here.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“What in the world do you mean? Like Borna Coric? I guess that explains the weird name-”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“No, Chiara, way further than that,” he interrupts. </span></p>
<p>
  <span>She stares at him. “You don’t mean you’re from the Pifflepaff Hills? Never met an Ever</span>
  <em>
    <span>boy</span>
  </em>
  <span> from there…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chiara, I’m not from the Woods,” Charlie says firmly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gapes at him. “No way. You’re a Reader?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He avoids her question and anxiously watches the darkening sky. “Night’s really falling now. We’ve probably been in here for 3, maybe 4 hours? We need to get shelter fast before something notices us out in the open.” He spots a dark turquoise cave. “Let’s go there,” Charlie decides, leading Chiara towards the opening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only then does she realize that she never let go of his hand after crossing the bridge, and her cheeks flush bright red.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“These are the Cyan Caves, right?” she mumbles, suddenly grateful for the thick darkness hiding her crimson face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep,” he responds. “Not the safest place to be at night, but a lot better than being exposed out there. Okay, we can probably stay here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie sits on the ground and the two sink into a deep silence, only broken by the dripping of azure water from the cave ceiling’s stalactites. Chiara fidgets, unable to quash her curiosity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right as she’s gathering the courage to speak, he announces, “Chiara, I know you’re really confused about who I am and why you don’t recognize me, but I need you to trust me. I know we don’t know each other very well, but I promise I’m not going to try to hurt you. Okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chiara stares at him and he gazes back unflinchingly, as if he has nothing he needs to hide. She finds herself agreeing with him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He exhales. “Good. Now, let’s go. These caves might’ve been a good resting spot but we should definitely get out of here and move to a safer location before anything finds us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Too late,” rasps a voice behind them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl freezes in shock. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No way someone already found us. We’ve been in these caves for less than five minutes. I must be imagining this voice. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turns, fully expecting to see nobody behind her, and finds herself face to face with a harpy. The same harpy who she’d rescued Charlie from in the Tulip Garden, and who she thought she’d escaped from.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been following your scent since you stole what was rightly mine,” she says with an eerie grin. “And now I’m here to take it.” She turns away, reaching for Charlie. “You’re coming with me,” she croons, baring her teeth at him in a demonic smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His face turns as white as a sheet. He looks absolutely terrified. Chiara tries to run towards him but her feet are rooted to the ground. Desperately, she yanks at her legs, but they’re immobile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The harpy must have placed an enchantment on me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thinks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The only thing I can do is watch…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl looks back at Charlie, convinced this is the last time she’ll see him alive. But there’s something strange about his expression. His face is white but not in fear, more in… concentration. His brows are furrowed, his gaze determined, and one of his fingers is pointing steadily towards the harpy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It looks almost like he’s doing magic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she realizes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The harpy suddenly freezes and turns to face Chiara. She walks with jerky, uncoordinated movements and undoes the enchantment with a flick of her hand. Free at last, Chiara strides towards him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Charlie, what is going on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes never leave the harpy’s back. She starts walking in that jerky manner towards the cave exit, his twitching finger controlling her movements like a puppeteer. As soon as the harpy is gone, he collapses to the floor in exhaustion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s my talent,” he pants.</span>
</p>
<p><span>“You can just force people to do whatever you want? I’ve never heard of any </span><em><span>Ever </span></em><span>doing that before.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Not people,” he corrects. “Monsters. Animals. And it’s not controlling them. I can’t make them think anything. I can just move them around for a little while. But I can’t do it for more than a few minutes. It’s exhausting.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>He looks at the cave exit.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“She’ll be back soon. We need to leave. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>“We need a way to move quickly and without being seen,” Charlie says. “Clearly, walking on foot hasn’t been working. That harpy managed to follow us for hours without us noticing her. It can’t happen again.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“I still don’t understand how she managed to track us down,” Chiara responds. “She clearly lost us when I mogrified into a horse, so how’d she know how to follow our trail?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>He stares at her in confusion. “What do you mean? Chiara, the reason she found us so easily is because of your magic.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>She frowns. “Sorry, </span><em><span>what</span></em><span>?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“It’s your talent. Evil creatures can sense truth seers from miles away.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>The girl groans. “So basically, you mean that no matter how fast we travel, creatures will still find us. And it’s all my fault.”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it all depends on how we travel. They can sense you easily on the ground, but what about in the air?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god, you’re a genius! We’ll fly…” She spots a yellow egg in a bird’s nest and smiles mischievously. “On stymphs.”</span>
</p>
<p><span>Chiara grabs the egg and lets loose a sharp whistle. A massive stymph swoops down and spots the egg. It nuzzles up to her like a dog and she giggles. “Stymphs love Evers! We’re going to be fine.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>He smiles nervously. “Okay, then…”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>She notices that his face has gone white again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Charlie, are you scared of heights too?” Chiara laughs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” he groans. </span>
</p>
<p><span>“Okay, where’s our destination?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“The Azure Mountains are definitely the safest place for us,” he responds. “Nothing will be able to spot us from that high up.” </span></p>
<p>
  <span>“Good idea,” she responds. “Okay, let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The stymph lurches to the side again and a wave of nausea washes over Chiara. Charlie groans and tightens his grip around her waist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The flight to the Azure Mountains has been a disaster. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This stymph is hands down the most uncoordinated animal I’ve ever seen</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thinks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s odd, because Chiara’s ridden stymphs before in Surviving Fairy Tales, and although they were never </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun </span>
  </em>
  <span>to ride, they were also never this uncomfortable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just our luck. I found the worst flier in the Forest.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shakes off her pessimistic thoughts and peers back into the darkness. If she squints hard, she can see the faint outline of one of the mountains’ peak. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The stymph breaks her out of her thoughts as it lurches again, nearly tipping its passengers off. Chiara turns back to Charlie to see how he’s doing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His face is a pale shade of green and his brow is furrowed hard in concentration as he tries to stay onboard. She’s about to turn and face forwards again when she notices something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie’s pointer finger is twitching slightly every time the stymph beats his wings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>why he’s so pale and weak! </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thinks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s not scared of heights, he’s been controlling the stymph since we took off.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But why does he need to do that? The stymph won’t try to throw us off, they love Evers…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s struck with a horrible realization.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Which means Charlie’s not an Ever.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re here,” he announces.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two of them watch the stymph fly away in silence. </span>
</p>
<p><span>Without turning to face him, Chiara says, “Charlie, I know you’re a Never.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>He stiffens. “Why would you think that?” he responds carefully.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“I saw you controlling that stymph. They love Evers, so why would you control it if it wasn’t a threat to you? Clearly, you’re not who you said you were.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re wrong,” he responds, voice cold. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> lied. I never once said I was an Ever. I also never said I was a Reader.”</span>
</p>
<p><span>She turns and locks eyes with him. “Charlie, tell me why you brought me here.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>He stares back, unflinchingly. “I was the perfect option for the School for Evil,” he begins. “My talent is so powerful. I could’ve had the best story in </span><em><span>centuries</span></em><span>, and brought Evil eternal glory.”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes flicker with rage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But that </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dean Sophie picked that bumbling fool Bogden instead of me. She ruined my future.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He exhales heavily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Which is why I broke into the Trial. My plan was to kill an Ever, frame a Never, and start a war between the schools. A war that will end with </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> as the School Master and the heads of everyone who ever misjudged me on a pike.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Starting, of course… with </span>
  <em>
    <span>yours</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He beckons and the pumpkin-headed creature and the harpy come out of the shadows, their movements jerky and puppet-like.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pumpkin-headed monster from the invisible bridge lumbers stiffly toward Chiara. She dodges his first attack but is too flow and feels his long hook scrape her across the face. Pain explodes in her temple and she feels blood dripping off of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Think, Chiara, think! </span>
  </em>
  <span>she orders herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What are my strengths?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She remembers how she saved Charlie from the harpy, only a couple of hours ago, and relief washes over her,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chiara mogrifies into a venomous snake and slithers under the pumpkin-headed creature, clamping her fangs around his leg. He bellows in pain at the same time as Charlie, who lets out a scream of utter agony.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Startled, her serpent eyes hone in on him. Although he appears unharmed, her talent shows her that in actuality, there’s an open wound on his leg.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my god,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she realizes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>When the creatures he controls get hurt, Charlie gets hurt too. The magic </span>
  </em>
  <span>connects </span>
  <em>
    <span>them!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The creature lunges toward Chiara, grabbing her thin body, and she mogrifies again into a brown bear. She swipes it with sharp claws across the face, ripping large holes in its eyes. The blinded monster stumbles around, unable to find her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie sends the harpy charging towards the bear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chiara remembers how furious the woman had been when she’d escaped her clutches with Charlie and tow. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I can use her anger to my advantage.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bear mogrifies rapidly, from bat to jaguar to elephant to slug, constantly pinching, poking, and mocking the harpy. One seconds she’s stinging her as a bee, and then when the creature tries to squash her, she’s a bird jabbering in her ear. Each minor annoyance infuriates her, and her attacks become sloppier and easier to avoid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chiara becomes a bear one last time and stabs her in the back with a long claw, careful not to kill her. The harpy collapses to the floor, screeching in agony.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bear mogrifies back into a human and heads toward Charlie, who’s lying crumpled on the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can end this,” she says, fighting back tears. “As soon as this Trial’s over, I can get you to the infirmary and save you. You don’t have to die like this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t respond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, Charlie, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will never be happy,” he wheezes. “This is the only way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy lunges towards Chiara, intending to shove her off of the mountaintop. She dodges instinctively and he plummets from the mountain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sun bursts out from behind a mountain peak, the sky awash with glorious colors.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won,” Chiara whispers, tears streaming down her face.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
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